Knowledge of Alzheimer’s Disease Among Medical Students of a Medical College

Abstract

Introduction:Dementia is a public health concern as the prevalence is increasing worldwide with significant increase being in low-middle income countries. However these countries appear to be less prepared in handling this rise in terms of diagnosis and management. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Kathmandu medical College, from June 2017 to July 2017. Purposive sampling was done and the medical students who were in their first and final year of study were included in the study after obtaining an informed consent. Results: Total 185 students were included in the study, 80 (43.24%) from first year and 105 (56.75%) from final year of medical study. The mean score of knowledge among the students was 17.44± 2.46; 15.32± 1.22 among first year and 19.06± 1.87 among the final year students. Majority of the students said they have heard about dementia however, only 3 (3.75%) of first year and 43 (41.9%) from final year students have either attended a class or CME on dementia Conclusion:The knowledge about dementia was found to be average among medical students but better among final year medical students in comparison to first year. The knowledge was found to be better statistically among those who had either attended a class or CME on dementia or had exposure through different medias. Keywords:alzheimer`s disease; dementia; knowledge; medical students.